PCSO Ian Goodwin read out the incident numbers for the past month which largely consisted of low-level crime and anti-social behaviour (neighbour disputes, thefts, noise and nuisance etc). Although these types of crime are treated as relatively minor incidents it is noted that there are still victims at the receiving end and of course they don’t see these things as minor.
Discussion last night focused largely on parking and pedestrian safety issues in Blackhall Colliery and Blackhall Rocks.
Parking along the main shopping area in Middle Street has been a persistent problem for some time. The main issue, apart from inconsiderate parking, is vehicles driving onto the pavement whilst parking. It was noted that there have been quite a few near misses recently where shoppers have almost been hit by parking cars and vans. To this end we are working with highways officers and the parish council to work up a scheme where bollards will be strategically placed along Middle Street to prevent this practice. As ever there are hurdles to overcome, not least planing consent and of course funding, but we have asked highways officers to draw up a scheme which we can then submit for planning approval, which then triggers a statutory public consultation period to enable pedestrians, shoppers, drivers and shop owners to have their say. If everything goes according to plan we can then focus on drawing down funding to make the scheme happen.
On a number of occasions over the years we have received complaints from residents in the bungalows along the Coast Road between Blackhall Colliery and Blackhall Rocks who are having considerable difficulty safely accessing the main road because of vehicles parked in the marked bays on the A1086 at the top of their streets (please see post dated 13 June 2014 for background details). Police are aware of these problems but at present are limited in taking enforcement action because they don’t have the required legal powers to intervene. However, they have assured us and residents that they will do their best to advise drivers to park their vehicles with consideration for others.
Finally it was reported that reported incidents associated with off-road bikes in Hesleden and along the coast had reduced considerably since they were reported to the PACT meeting in June. However, police will continue to monitor the situation at these locations (please see post dated Thursday 14 June 2018 for background details).
